A Super Smash Bros Christmas Carol!
by Coli Chibi
Summary: With Christmas around the corner, people are trying harder to be generous and compassionate... except Samus Aran. That is, until the supernatural decides to step in and make her! Contains multiple pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Wolf was dead to begin with. There was absolutely no doubt about that. His death certificate was signed by the clergyman, the gravedigger, and most importantly, by Aran herself. If Aran had signed it, it was official. Wolf had croaked.

Did Aran know he had croaked? Well, of course she did! She had been Wolf's partner, only friend, only confident and only mourner. She had been the one who had paid for his funereal for the love of Mike! (Which was the sorriest, cheapest excuse for a funereal imaginable. The coffin was actually bought used.) Aran knew that Wolf had died, and quite frankly, she couldn't care less. It was his fault for not keeping better care of those airplanes he loved to fly. Maybe he wouldn't have crashed if he had. Of course, there were always the rumors that one of his employees had sabotaged the plane himself, in order to destroy his abusive and greedy boss. Actually, that wouldn't be a surprise at all, but Aran didn't care enough to investigate. Aran didn't give a flying leap.

Dear Ms. Aran wasn't very nice, if you couldn't tell by now.

Samus Aran was without the richest, wealthiest and most successful businesswomen in Smash City. She had money, and her own business that she had created herself. She was also one of the stingiest, greediest, and most selfish women in the city. Samus Aran had it all: the beauty of a twenty year old, the intellect of an eighty year old, and the self-love and greed of a sixteen year old spoiled brat. Her business was large, and she ran the whole thing by herself, refusing to allow anyone else to control that which she had built herself. Her employees were overworked, underpaid, and regularly miserable. Samus herself was a miser, rarely spending the money she had horded away for years. Despite being only twenty three, she was never bright, happy, and cheery. She was cold and hard, to anyone who made the mistake of speaking to her.

So, one very cold Christmas Eve afternoon, Samus Aran, dressed in her black attire, stalked into her three room building that she made her base of operations, casting a quick glare at her employees, who were working away on their typewriters (computers were too expensive) and walked into her office, passing by her secretary, a brunette named Zelda.

What could be said about Zelda? That is, what could be _negatively_ said about Zelda? Zelda was beautiful, kind-hearted, selfless, generous, and flat-out _broke. _Zelda had been an heiress when her father had died. Rather than use the money for herself, she spent it to build the Smash City Orphanage, built to save children from starving on the streets. However, a combination of expensive bills and dishonest banking put Zelda in the poor house, and she now struggled daily to feed the children she looked after. With the pay she made working for Aran, she barely had enough to do even that. Some nights the children starved, some nights they would shiver in the cold with the lack of heater and an unsafe fireplace. Zelda had very little experience other than writing, so she managed to get a job as Samus' secretary, mainly because Samus was happy to employ someone who was so desperate for money that she would strive to do the work harder for even the smallest wages.

However, today there was one man who wasn't usually there. A small mustached man wearing a green coat and shivering in a combination of fear and the cold (Aran refused to buy a heater) and casting frightened glances at Aran was sitting on the chair outside of her cubicle office.

"Ms Harkanian," Samus said. "Who," she poked the man in the gut, "or should I say what is this?"

Zelda looked up from her typing. "His name is Mr. Luigi, ma'am. He's here to talk about... the loan he borrowed from you."

Samus stalked into her office, pulling off her winter coat, while Luigi began to babble. "Ms. Aran I know you're upset, but I can explain all of this! You see, my wife, Daisy, lovely woman, you should see her, wants to have a child, and we couldn't have a child without a proper nursery, not to mention how expensive the doctor is-!"

Samus hung up her coat and hat on the coat-rack in her office.

"But I do intend to pay back every penny we borrowed! We just needed a little money to help pay for Christmas presents and such, you know trees and lights, and that kind of thing-!"

Samus walked out of his office and grabbed the smaller man by the collar and walked over to the door.

"But I swear I'll pay you back! With interest! Double interest! Triple intreeessssst!"

Samus kicked the door to the building open and tossed Luigi out into the snow before slamming the door shut.

Her employees took that as a note to get back the work.

Samus walked back to her office, hands folded behind her back. "Ms. Harkanian, please prepare the bankruptcy notices for tomorrow morning to be sent to our dead-beat friend."

Zelda looked up, surprise written on her features. "Ma'am, tomorrow's Christmas."

Samus rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."

Zelda nodded and wrote the note down. "Yes, ma'am," she said, her voice filled with regret.

After that, the office was quiet, other than the sound of typing. And that was the way Aran liked it.

It was then that Douglas Falcon stood up from his work and walked into the office. Douglas (or Falcon, which he preferred) was the bravest out of the employees. He was a kind, 37 year old race-car wannabe who never got a shot at his dream due to poor funds. He liked danger and excitement, and was one of the only ones who would actually dare to go and complain to his employer. However, as usual, Samus barely acknowledged his presence when he walked into the office.

"Ms. Aran?" he asked.

Samus sighed, realizing that he was probably complaining. "Yes, Mr. Falcon?" she said, the words filled with annoyance.

Falcon ignored the annoyance. "Ma'am, the others and I are feeling really cold in these winter months, and we were wondering if we could buy a heater?"

Samus' answer was quick. "No."

Falcon managed to keep his cool. "But ma'am, we're all very cold lately, and it's only going to get colder!"

"We're freezing!" Yoshi, another worker said, shivering.

"We'll catch pneumonia!" Olimar complained, rubbing his large, running nose.

Zelda's timid voice chimed, "It is very cold, ma'am. Maybe Falcon's right."

Samus stood and slammed her fists on her desk. "Then wear a thicker coat!" she shouted. "Wear mittens, gloves, hats, earmuffs, I don't care! But if I hear one more complaint, you can find yourselves shivering on the unemployment line!"

All the workers rushed back to work, forgetting their cold bodies and focusing on making a living. Samus sat back down, satisfied that she had control over her office once again. Until...

"Merry Christmas everybody!"

Samus' only living blood relative, her nephew Link walked into the room, wearing his green coat and hat, and carrying a large bag filled with Christmas Wreaths in one arm and a present in the other. The mood of the room was considerably lightened as Samus' kind and beloved nephew began to pass out his presents to his Aunt's overworked workers, giving each a lovely wreath for their homes. "And a Merry Christmas to you too, Aunt Samus!" Link said after giving a smiling Zelda her wreath and walking into the small room Samus called an office.

"Heh," Samus said. "Humbug."

"Christmas a Humbug, Auntie?" Link asked his voice still happy. "Surely you don't mean that! And who even says humbug anymore?"

Samus scowled. She hated it when Link called her "Auntie". "I do mean it, Nephew. And if I had my way, any idiot who ran around with the words 'Merry Christmas' would be shot upon sight without a trial." She meant every word.

Link's good mood didn't diminish in the very slightest. "Oh, Auntie, don't be like that. Be happy! It's the season of joy for the love of Mike!"

"Why are you so happy?" Samus asked. "You're certainly poor enough."

Why are you so angry?" Link retorted. "You're certainly rich enough."

A small laugh came from outside Samus' Office. Zelda covered her mouth to stop herself.

Samus scowled. "One more laugh from you, Ms. Harkanian, and you'll be spending Christmas in the gutter!"

Zelda gulped. "I'm sorry, Ms. Aran. That was unprofessional of me."

"Darn right it was," Samus muttered, going back to her paperwork. She glanced up at Link. "Now what do you want here? I don't think you came to talk to me about how I should spend my holidays."

"You got me there," Link said. "First off, I came to give you this." He placed the box on the table. Samus opened it, stared at the orange scarf inside, and then popped it into the trash can.

Trying not to frown, Link continued: "Secondly, I came to invite you to dinner on Christmas Day! We'll be having all sorts of nice foods, play a few games. I know you like to spend your time in this office, but why not come? Midna and I would love it!"

"Midna?" Samus asked. "Oh wait, that's right, the Goth woman you married. I doubt she wants to see me."

"First off, Midna isn't Goth, she just likes dark colors. Secondly, you didn't exactly leave a lasting impression at my wedding."

"And what kind of impression did I leave?"

"You never came to my wedding!" Link said. "I had to listen to her crazy Uncle Zant all night!"

"Well, boo-hoo for you," Samus replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Is that all? Because I'd-!"

The door opened and two gentlemen walked in, wearing rather raggedy looking coats. In their hands they were carrying checklists and calculators. Samus sighed. Donation collectors.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" the first, a smiling fox asked. "My name is Fox Mc-Cloud, here for the Star Fox Charity Services. Oh, and this is my partner, Falco." He gestured to the blue bird that was standing next to him.

Falco barely smiled. He seemed bored or depressed. Samus barely cared.

"What do you want?" the business woman asked briskly.

Fox cleared his throat. "Well, ma'am, it is important that in these times, when the world is more caring and kind, that we strive to help those less fortunate than us. So I and my fellows are currently collecting donations for that cause. Would we be able to ask for a small sum of money from you? How much could we put you down for?"

"Nothing." Samus began to scribble on her paper again.

"You wish to remain anonymous?" Fox asked.

"I wish to be left alone!" Samus shouted.

"What a surprise," muttered Falco.

"But ma'am!" said Fox. "There's nowhere else for them to go!"

"How about the poor houses?" asked Samus.

"Have you seen some of those places? They're hardly fit to live in at these times! Some would prefer to die than go there!"

"If they'd rather die," Samus hissed, "then they'd better go and do it, and decrease the surplus population!"

"But, ma'am-!" stammered Fox.

"I said out!" Samus said, pointing at the door.

The two walked out dejected, Falco muttering unhappily about a lack of donations.

"Gentlemen, wait!" Link cried, running forward and pulling out a small handful of money out of his pocket. "I know it's not much, but here," he said, handing the money to Falco.

Falco managed a small smile. "Nice to see someone being nice this time of year. Thanks a ton."

"You're welcome," Link replied.

The two departed, and Link turned back to Samus, who was back to her paperwork. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

"Yes," Samus replied. "My tax-money goes to funding poor-houses and prisons. The poor should go there if they need shelter."

Link sighed. There was no arguing with this woman. You'd have a better time arguing with a brick wall. "Are you coming to Christmas Dinner or not?" he asked.

Samus glared. "Nephew, you keep Christmas in your way and I'll keep it in mine."

"Very well then." He turned to Samus' workers. "Would any of you like to join us for dinner?" he asked.

Zelda smiled a sad smile. "Well, I need to care for the children tomorrow. I couldn't have Lucas spread germs all over your house. It wouldn't be polite."

"And we're going to have dinner at Zelda's place tomorrow!" said Falcon, as the other workers nodded. "We have presents for the kids!"

Link smiled. "Oh well, I guess I just can't win. Well, Merry Christmas everyone!"

"It's still humbug!" Samus called from her office.

"And a Happy New Year!" Link finished as he waltzed out the door.

Samus scowled. "Idiot..." She then glanced at the present in her trash bin. She picked it up and walked out of her office, saying, "Mr. Falcon."

Douglas looked up from his typing. "Yes, ma'am?"

"If you want to warm up that badly, start a fire." She tossed the box at his head. "And here's the kindling!"

It was quiet, after that.

Evening came, and after a long, long day, Samus' workers picked themselves up out of their desks and pulled on their winter coats. Zelda walked into Samus' office and announced, "It is closing time, ma'am."

Samus nodded and placed her pen into her drawer. "Alright then, see you tomorrow, Ms Harkanian. 8:00, sharp."

Zelda looked up, surprised. The other workers froze. "Tomorrow is Christmas, ma'am."

"Eight Thirty then."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but a half hour hardly seems customary for Christmas Day," Zelda explained.

Samus raised an eyebrow at that. "And what would be customary for Christmas Day, Ms. Harkanian?"

Zelda swallowed. "A whole day, ma'am."

"A whole day?" Samus asked, obviously unhappy with the prospect.

Zelda nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Other businesses will be closed; there will be nobody to do business with."

Falcon chimed in, "It would be a waste of expensive paper!"

Samus rolled her eyes. "That hardly seems like a good excuse to pick a woman's pocket annually."

Everyone sighed at the prospect of working tomorrow.

Samus groaned. "But since I seem to be the only one smart enough to know that... take the damn day off."

The workers began to cheer and Zelda smiled and nodded.

Samus pulled on her coat and hat, and said as viciously as she could, "But be here an hour earlier the day after that!"

The workers all nodded and began to clean up the shop as Samus walked out of the door into the cold winter night. It was only when Yoshi, who was watching from the window proclaimed, "She's gone!" did the workers began talking happily about having a happy Christmas. The air was soon filled with their happy words and plans.

Soon, once they were done cleaning, they locked up shop and began the long, cold walk home, whilst their angry employer stalked off the other way.

* * *

Samus' house was easy to see in Smash City. It was the massive, castle-like building that over-looked the park. It was a four-minute walk away from her workshop, so she never had to use her car. Samus, as stated before, was a miser. She rarely spent much money on things other than food and bills. She never even actually bought the house. It was inherited from her dead parents, Rodney and Virginia Aran. She hadn't moved into it until she had come to the city, and very little had happened to it since then. Samus didn't ever bother to redecorate. So it looked very aged, almost ancient. It had a black metal gate surrounding it, along with several gargoyle-like statues of bird-like men covering the house, making it look almost Gothic in origin.

Samus pushed open the black gates and locked them after her as she walked to the door of her house, eager to partake in her evening rituals. She climbed up onto the front porch and began to unlock the door. Once she finished, she reached for the bird-head shaped door-handle, only to freeze once she looked at it.

She didn't see the sharp looking, falcon shaped door handle. She saw Wolf O'Donnell's head, his grey fur dark and stormy, his mouth curled into a snarl, his single eye glaring at her.

Samus jumped back, only to slip on her icy steps. She fell over and struck her head on the ground. After swearing a few times, she pulled herself up, and, after making sure to not slip, inspected the door handle again, only to find that it was in fact the same door handle she had always had.

"I need to get something to eat," she muttered. "It's going to my head."

She unlocked the door and walked into her dark house. She quickly headed to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. She pulled out the tin container that had the sesame seed chicken leftovers that she had saved from two days ago when she had Chinese takeout. After pulling the food from the microwave and grabbing a fork and a glass of water, Samus retreated to her bedroom, the thought of Wolf still on her mind.

After lighting her fire place (heaters were too expensive, again), putting on her night clothes (blue ones, bought at the local thrift store), and sat in her easy recliner chair (used of course) and ate her fast food, trying to calm herself down.

She had obviously hit her head harder than she thought, right? It was just an illusion of Wolf she had seen, right? She hadn't eaten for most of day, so she was just having some bad dreams because of her stomach. That was all, she convinced herself as she shoved more reheated chicken into her mouth.

She didn't know how long she been sitting there until her wall clock struck twelve and began to chime. Rapidly. The bell began to ring quickly and without stopping once. The rapid ticking got Samus' attention and she turned to see the hands of the clock rotating rapidly around the face, spinning hypnotically around. Samus stared at it, spellbound, until it arrived at 12:01.

Then, the fire went out, leaving Samus in the dark.

The blonde growled. That wasn't supposed to happen. She got up and felt around for the matches on the mantle.

Then she heard the clanking. The slow, awful sound of chains clanking.

Samus froze as the clanking steadily grew louder and louder. She felt the room's temperature drop.

Then, she heard the door swing open, and a blue light filled the room.

Samus swallowed and turned around slowly, her breath frozen in her throat. There, standing in the door, was a chained, bandaged, and transparent Wolf O'Donnell.

"Samus..." the figure hissed.

Samus backed away slowly. "What are you?" she asked, trying to replace her fear with anger in her voice.

The figure chuckled. "Don't you remember me, Sammy? In life, I was you business partner. Wolf O'Donnell."

Samus made a snarling sound. "It looks like you..." she admitted."But it can't be!" she shouted.

Wolf smirked. "Why do you doubt your own eyes, Sammy?"

Samus pointed an accusing finger at her ex-partner. "Because a little thing can make them cheat! You could just be a piece of bad chicken. A little too much coffee! Some undigested chow mien! All you are is an excuse to sue that Chinese place I order from! Yeah," she said confidently. "There's more of gravy than of grave about you!"

Wolf howled, a long and dreadful howl, blasting sound and cold air into Samus' face. Samus felt like her face was freezing solid, and she backed away from the ghost, falling into her large four poster bed.

"Do you believe me now?" the ghost growled.

Despite her heart beating like a drum, Samus tried to maintain her courage. "It seems I have no choice," she muttered, reaching her hand slowly toward her pillow. "But please tell me. Why are you here?"

Wolf smirked again. "It is required of every man, and woman, and anthropomorphic animal" he hissed, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men. And if that spirit goes not forth in life, he is condemned to do so after death, to witness what he cannot share, but might've shared and turned to happiness."

"Oh," Samus said, as if it was obvious. "That's why."

Then, her hand shot under her pillow and pulled out a large, sawed off, shotgun. She aimed within milliseconds and opened fire on her ex-partner. When he didn't fall, she fired again and again, until she ran out of ammo in the gun.

Wolf was laughing ecstatically, his chains rattling as his spectral form shook. "A shotgun?" he shouted. "I can't believe you thought that would work! You actually keep a shotgun under your pillow! What do you think you are, a Ghostbuster?"

Samus dropped the gun and headed for the door, seeing that her plan had failed. However, she ended up tripping over on of Wolf's many chains and toppling to the ground. Trying to get up, she found herself staring into Wolf's glowing eyes. Unable to breath, she asked, "What do you want?"

"What I want," Wolf hissed, "is to save you from what happened to me."

"Dying in a plane crash?"

"No, you idiot!" snapped Wolf. "Dying a greedy, self-loving and selfish monster!" he shouted as his chains began to rattle loudly.

Samus winced. "What are you talking about?" she whispered. "And could you get rid of those blasted chains? They're irritating me!"

"Oh, I would _love _to get rid of these forsaken things!" Wolf howled, silencing Samus. "But I can't! These chains are the chains I forged in life by my acts of greed and selfishness! For this act, I am forced to wear this blasted line of steel and iron for the rest of my life!" He paused, and then added, "Oh and I went to Hell to and that's pretty bad, but these chains just make it worse!" He jabbed Samus in the nose. "You yourself wear a chain like this! And day by day, it's getting longer and heavier! Is this what you want, Sammy?" He thrust his muzzle into her face. "IS IT?"

"Wolf!" Samus protested. "What are you talking about? You weren't a bad person! You were just a man of business!"

"Mankind should have been my business," Wolf replied, grimly. "But I never listened. And now, this happened to me. And worse will happen to you!"

"No!" shouted Samus, pulling away. "Tell me that you're lying, Wolf! Tell me you're lying!"

"I would if I could but I can't, so I shant," Wolf retorted. "However, I'm not here to tell you of your inevitable damnation. I'm here to tell you that maybe - just maybe - you can save yourself from this."

"Tell me!" Samus begged, her bravado gone. "Tell me how!"

Wolf growled. "Tonight, you will be visited by three spirits - well, four if your count me - who will guide you on the path of redemption. Listen to what they say, and you may just make it out of this world happy and loved, unlike me." Wolf suddenly gasped as the chains that were wrapped around him were pulled by an unseen force. "Do you want my help!" he croaked as a chain pulled on his neck.

"Yes!" Samus whispered, unsure of what was happening.

Wolf gave a yelp as the chains pulled him to the window. They almost yanked him out of the window. He clawed at the window sill and tried to pull himself in. "Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one!" he shouted.

"Can't I see them all at once and get it over with!" Samus shouted.

"When the bell-!" The chains pulled harder. "Tolls-!" And harder. "One!" And harder.

Wolf was almost yanked away from the window. In his last effort, he grabbed Samus by the collar of her night shirt and shouted, "Change!" in her face, before he was dragged, screaming and shouting, away into the night. When his ghostly moans faded and he disappeared from view, Samus leaped into bed and pulled the covers over her head, Wolf's words still on her mind.

* * *

**Merry Christmas Folks!**

**It's me, your favorite Sonamus writer Coli Chibi wishing you happy holidays! Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Anyway, I think the source of this story doesn't need to be explained. The Christmas Carol is one of the most loved stories of all time. And many adaptations have been made, but my favorites are the Muppet Christmas Carol and the Stingiest Man in Town, by Rankin and Bass. Since it's the Holidays, why not go and watch them? Both are great!**

**Anyways, now for some explanations:**

**Yes, Samus is out Scrooge figure. I could have gone with Bowser, or Ganondorf, but that seemed too easy. Besides, Samus has that businessy kind of gal. **

**I know I haven't shown any Sonamus yet, but just wait till the next part. You'll see it!**

**Wolf seemed like a good Marley, didn't he? He is a mercenary, and that's close to a bounty hunter, like Samus. I could have made Captain Falcon Marley, but he seemed like such a nice guy. Besides, I already screwed around with him in Fast Love, so I decided to give him a break**

**Zelda seemed like the perfect Cratchit figure. She's calm but troubled, and seemed like the perfect mild-mannered figure to use. **

**And yes, Link is married to Midna, from Twilight Princess. I know she never technically appeared in Super Smash Bros., but I love her too much, and I'm a Midlinker, so what're you gonna do?**

**Well, I have things to do, so see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

Samus awoke after a restless and fitful sleep. Wolf's ghost was still on her mind, and she couldn't stand it. All of his words hadn't left her, and she was still worried that his words might actually be _true_.

Samus sighed under her blankets, repeating to herself over and over that it was all false. That she hadn't seen Wolf. That tomorrow was just going to be another day of her life with no interruptions.

Then, she heard the clock strike one.

The room was filled with an unearthly glow, shining through Samus' bed-curtains, startling her. The light was bright and almost terrifying, but strangely enough, as bright as it was, it didn't hurt her eyes. Samus slowly reached her hand to the bed-curtains and flung the open. She was greeted with the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. In the center of the room, was a strange creature. His feet were non-existent. Only a round saucer shaped base supported his long, rod of a body. His arms were on his side, and his rectangular head sat on top it all, two wide eyes glowing at her, seeming to stare at her soul. Finally finding her voice, she asked, "Who are you?"

"I am called the Redemption Operations Buddy. You may call me R.O.B. for short, is you wish," the spirit replied, his wide eyes shining still.

Samus raised an eyebrow at the robot-like spirit. "Well, what do you want from me?" she asked. "What are you?"

"My occupation is the Spirit of Christmas Past," the mechanical being replied. "And Mr. Wolf O'Donnell already told you what I would want; to help you. I am here for your welfare."

"The Past?" Samus repeated, skeptical. "You seem awfully Sci-Fi to be from the Past, Mr. _Spirit_."

"I am not of the world's past," the robot said. "I am your past. I was created to show you the past of a Samus Angeline Aran. That is you, correct?"

"Yes it is, of course!" Samus shouted. "Of course I am, you idiot!"

"As I suspected." The robot raised a hand. "Come."

"Come where?" asked Samus.

The robot moved across the floor noiselessly and stopped at Samus' window. His eyes flashed, and the window burst open without a sound. "To the past. Come here." And with that, the robot began to float out the window, his hand extended.

"Oh, no," Samus said, stepping away. "I'm not made of everything George Lucas didn't want like you are! I'll fall!"

"Touch my hand," the robot commanded. "and you will not fall." Seeing her hesitation, he added, "It is for your own welfare."

"I think a good-night sleep would be better for me," Samus muttered.

If R.O.B. the Spirit heard her, he didn't show it. However, he reached forward and grabbed Samus' arm, pulling the screaming and surprised moneylender out the window into the night.

"What're you doing?" she screamed unhappily.

The Spirit didn't answer. He simply continued to fly over Smash City in a straight line, Samus holding on to his arm and obviously unhappy, shouting for him to slow down. R.O.B. did neither.

Then, Samus saw the light. A glowing light in the distance. She didn't know what it was, but chances are, it wasn't good. "Spirit," she said. "What is that?"

"The past," the robot answered as the light engulfed them. Samus screamed and closed her eyes. She didn't open them, or stopped screaming, until she hit the ground.

Samus bolted up and looked around. She was in a small clearing in a snow covered. In her pajamas, no less. Samus bolted up, and spun around to face the Spirit. "Where are we?" she asked, angrily. "Where did you take us?"

"See for yourself," the robot replied, as he began to hover out of the clearing, motioning for Samus to follow him. Deciding it was probably wiser to listen to him, Samus reluctantly followed.

After about five minutes, they made it out of the forest. Samus was greeted with the sight of a building she hadn't seen in ages. There, at the top of a snow covered hill, was her old boarding school, a building she knew very well. The old building stood in the sun, standing tall and firm as it always had. Children were playing in the snow, throwing snowballs and building little snowmen.

Samus didn't know what to say or think. She began to walk aimlessly, simply staring at the place she hadn't seen in years.

"Do you know this place?" asked R.O.B.

"Know it?" Samus breathed. "I was raised here! This was my school, and that was the place I played!" Samus almost smiled. "I couldn't forget this place!"

"Is that so?" R.O.B. asked. "Perhaps you could give me a tour?"

"I..." Samus stopped speaking and looked at her clothes. "Why am I still in my pajamas?" she asked, her anger returning. "What if someone sees me like this? And why isn't it cold out?"

"These are shadows of the past," R.O.B. said. "They cannot see or hear you. Nor can we talk to them. This has all happened already."

"Oh," Samus muttered, noticing that it wasn't really that cold out. "Well, I guess we can then."

Samus felt the joy welling up inside of her as she walked up the hill, passed old friends, long gone, in their youth, playing in the snow and sliding on sleds. She remembered every tree, every large rock, and every face. She just couldn't believe that it was possible that she was at this old place, after all these years, and she soon found herself pointing out all of her childhood memories to the robotic spirit.

"See? There's the rusty swing set that we would sit on after school! And there's the old slide that we used to use as a mountain! And look there!" She pointed at a blue jackal looking creature who was throwing snowballs at a teenaged young man wearing a green bandana. "There's Snake and Lucario! I can't believe it; they look just like they did all those years ago. And over there's Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong!" she said, pointing at a monkey and gorilla, building a snow fort. Her happy recollections didn't stop when they entered the school house either. "And there's the classroom we took science in! And here," she said, as they walked into another room, "is where we took Mathematics!"

"You seem to remember a great deal," R.O.B. said. "Tell me, do you remember her?" He pointed over Samus shoulder.

Samus turned, and her breath stopped. There in the corner, was a small girl with blond hair, sitting by a desk and writing Math sums in her notebook. "Dear Lord," she muttered, "it's me."

"Yes," R.O.B. replied. "It is you. This is you when you were nine, three years after the murder of your parents. In their will, they arranged for that in their absence, that you and your brother be taken care of and educated. You do remember, of course."

"Yeah," Samus muttered, looking at her lonely younger self. "Of course I do. Marth went off for military training, and I stayed in boarding school, to learn about math, so I could be in business later in life." After a moment of silence, she whispered, "I can't believe it."

Samus couldn't help but stare at the tiny little her. She was scribbling numbers on her paper without even stopping as she performed her equations quickly and efficiently, as if she had been an adult math whiz, instead of a child. The girl's emotionless face never left her page as her hand rapidly moves back and forth, and up and down. Soon, her book is shut, and she reaches for another one. However, her hand stops, and she stares at the frost covered window. Young Samus stood up and walked to the window, opening it up and staring outside into the frozen snowy world outside, her blonde hair blowing in the winter breeze.

Then, a snowball smacked her in the face.

Outside, a small group of children was waving and laughing at her. "Hey, Samus!" called a blonde girl named Peach. "Come on and play! It's Christmas time!"

"I don't have time for Christmas!" the young Samus retorted. She was quickly showered by a hail of snowballs.

"Come on," Peach's friend Mario said. "Let's-a go and build a snowman!"

The other children ran off laughing. The young Samus shut the window, shutting out the sound of her playmates laughter, and, after wiping the snow off of herself, walked back to her desk. She then sat back down, and continued to work on her Math, silent, except for a sad sniffle every once and a while.

Older Samus turned to R.O.B., who was staring at her. "What?" she snapped.

R.O.B. continued to stare and asked, "Doesn't it make you feel sad? The fact that you were so unhappy as a child for allowing yourself to not be happy? Do you think that if you had just celebrated with your friends, that you might have had a happier life?"

Samus shrugged. "No," she said. "Unlike my friends, I wanted a future that didn't involve sitting in the gutter. I wanted a job. Besides, I wasn't _that _upset."

The young Samus began to tear up as she stared at the paper, and she began to sob, catching the two observers' attention. "See?" the spirit asked.

Samus frowned. "She… er, I got hit by a snowball! Of course I'd tear up a bit! But it isn't about Christmas!"

"Why can't I celebrate?" the younger Samus whispered, whimpering.

"See?" the spirit asked.

"No," the younger Samus muttered. "No I can't. I have work to do. Mom and Daddy wanted me to work hard, and that's what I'm going to do." And with that, and a steely expression rarely seen on a child, the girl continued her work.

"See?" Samus asked. "It was worth it. Just because I was unhappy as a child isn't a bad thing!"

"And are you happy now?" asked R.O.B. "Was all this misery worth it?"

"Of course it was!" snapped Samus. "I'm happy now… I'm successful now."

"Successful doesn't mean happy."

Samus whirled around and glared at the robot. "Oh, what do you know about it? Were you ever a business man? No, I don't think so! I'm happy now, and that school was the place I grew up and became what I am today!"

"But you weren't happy, were you?" asked R.O.B. "You wanted to leave that school and go home. But neither you nor your brother had the money to support the both of you, am I correct?"

Samus turned away. "Oh, shut up!" she snapped.

R.O.B. floated next to the younger Samus. "Does this face look like she feels like she's going to be successful?" he asked. "And would you think that she would continue to study like this if she saw what you would be in the future?"

"Yes, she… I would!" Samus retorted. "And this place isn't all that awful, you know! Sometimes I remember how much I learned her and missed it. I missed this place dearly when I left!"

R.O.B. nodded. "Is that so? Very well, then let us see another Christmas."

In a flash, the years seemed to pass in a flash; the younger Samus grew several inches, and her hair grew, than shrank, then grew again. Her clothes changed, her piles of books changed, the room around her seemed to age, until the flash stopped, and the young Samus was buried behind a large pile of schoolwork, her pencil scribbling across the books, only stopping to sharpen her pencil.

The, a boy wearing a red cap walked into the room, followed by three odd creatures. One was like a blue turtle with a long tail, the second was like a frog with a flower growing out of its back, and the last was a large red dragon with fire on its tail. The boy smiled and placed a small present at Samus' desk. Young Samus stopped working and smiled at the boy, and the two began to chat.

"Red?" muttered Samus. "I can't believe it's him, and all of his Pokémon, too! Oh, boy, he was my first real friend."

"Is that so?" asked R.O.B.

"Yeah, it is," Samus said. After that she was silent for a few seconds.

"Something wrong?" asked the robot.

"No, nothing," Samus said, as her younger self decided to spare a few minutes to play with the trainer and his Pokémon. "I just thought of one of my workers. Maybe I was a bit harsh with him…"

If R.O.B. had a mouth, he would have smiled. Spirits had a special way of getting people to admit things like that. Raising his hand, he said, "Come, let us see another Christmas."

The years went by in a flash again. When it stopped, young Samus had the only desk in the dusty, run down room. The windows were filthy, and the shelves were covered in dirt and grime. Young Samus was taller, at age thirteen now, and working hard on yet another math paper, along as usual. Red had left the academy the year before to seek a job in Pokémon breeding, Samus recalled. It was then that the door of the classroom burst open, and in strode her brother, Marth, dressed in his military uniform, ran in, surprising both incarnations of his sister. "Sammy!" he cried, picking up the smaller girl and twirling her. "You can leave this place now! It's all over now! I've been promoted! You, Caeda and I can live together now, as a family!"

"We can?" asked an overjoyed young Samus.

"We can!" Marth said. "We can get you new clothes, new books, and even a new, nicer school by our house so you never have to stay away for so long again!"

"That's great! Maybe then you can wipe that blue hair dye of your head!" younger Samus joked.

"Oh, shut up," Marth said as he happily picked up the smiling girl and crushed her in a hug, before carrying the small girl out of the building. On the way, Samus' old teacher, a large hand like creature named Master Hand.

"Leaving so soon?" the hand asked. "Well, I can't see I blame you. This place is falling apart, isn't it? Ah, well," he said, chuckling. "Have fun, and Merry Christmas!"

For perhaps the first time Samus could ever recall, she saw herself reply, "Merry Christmas!" to the Hand as her brother carried her outside. She then turned to the school and cried out, "Goodbye you smelly old place!"

R.O.B. floated up to Samus the elder as she stared at Marth's car driving away. "I thought you said that were sad to leave this place," he said.

"Guess I was happier than I thought," Samus muttered.

"Your brother seemed to care a great deal about you," R.O.B. pointed out. "A pity he died in action."

"Yeah…" Samus felt a tear coming on as she thought about it. "He left me all alone."

"Not quite," R.O.B. said. "Didn't he have a son?"

Samus paused before she could speak and said nothing.

"Something wrong?" asked the spirit.

"No," Samus replied. "Just a few things I'd like to say to my nephew right now…" She wiped the tear away and tried to put on an angry face. "Oh, forget it."

"Very well," said R.O.B. "Then let us see another Christmas."

Another flash and the location changed again. Samus found herself standing outside of another of her old schools, Smashville High. It was nighttime and she could hear music inside the school, and bright lights. "The Christmas Eve party," she whispered.

Slowly, she walked inside, followed by the spirit, as new feelings of nostalgia filled her, walking down those old halls. Eventually, she reached her old classroom. She opened the door, and sure as she was sure, there was a teenage Samus, writing, you guessed it, schoolwork. However, if it was any consolation, there was another kid in the classroom too, a young man named Wario, who was working equally hard. The work was cut off, however, when Crazy Hand, the school master, burst in. "Sammy! Warry! What're you two bunnies doing? It's Christmas time! Put the books away and let's fiesta!" The hand pulled out a pair of finger maracas and began to dance away in an invisible conga line.

Samus and Wario needed little urging to put their books away and fix up the classroom, each smiling widely as they prepared to take part in the most pleasant of activities, the celebration of Christmas.

The scene cut to the annual, Christmas Eve dance and carnival that the school held for the students and their families. Samus remembered how she and Marth, along with his wife, would enjoy the happy night together in her early teenage years. There were games, songs, free food and entertainment. Samus could see people walking through the school parking lot, with all the stands set up, dispensing cocoa and cookies to the families, as they wandered the attractions.

Samus' breathed in the nostalgia as she walked into the gym, where the students were dancing to Christmas music. It took little time to find herself in the gym, sitting on a chair in the corner, wearing a blue dress (Samus scowled in memory of wearing the awful thing) humming alone with the few songs she knew, but was mostly silent. "Never was a social butterfly," she muttered to the spirit.

It was then, when he walked up. Samus felt her heart beat faster as he saw him, walking up to greet her with Crazy Hand. After all these years, after he had vanished, it was him.

"Sammy!" Crazy Hand called to past Samus. "Have you met Sonic Hedgehog? He's from the track team!"

Present Samus gaped at the football player, a short blue fellow with long quills and wearing a red suit. "Nice to meet ya," he said, grinning.

Young Samus smiled, revealing her brace covered teeth, before shaking his hand. Older Samus slapped her head. "What a nerd…"she muttered.

"He doesn't seem to mind it," R.O.B. replied, pouring a glass of punch at the table.

"Yeah," Samus whispered as Sonic asked younger Samus if she wanted to dance, which she accepted. "He told me that he'd been crushing on me for a while when we started dating. That he was interested in someone like me…" She blushed and sighed. "I was a big geek those days."

On the dance floor, Sonic danced with Samus the younger, who was trying to not step on his feet and mess the night up."You're a good dancer," Sonic said, grinning as he spun with Samus.

"Thanks," young Samus said.

R.O.B. handed her the glass of punch he had been pouring. She sipped it as he said, "Come. Let us see the rest of the night."

The scene changed to the outside attractions. Samus and Sonic, both with cups of cocoa, were cheerfully watching couples skating on the school's ice rink. Then, Sonic and Samus themselves tried skating, which resulted with Sonic on the ice and both Samus' trying not to laugh. They then moved to a game booth, where Sonic was trying to win a game. When he successfully knocked down the bottles, he was given a blue, pretty looking beret hat for a prize, which he gave to Samus the younger.

"Oh, I can't take that," the younger Samus had said.

"Sure you can," Sonic replied. "What would I do with it?"

"This!" young Samus shouted, pulling the hat off and shoving it on the hedgehog's head, laughing.

The next scene contained Samus singing Christmas Carols on karaoke, Sonic cheering her on through "Jingle Bell Rock". Then, they watched the snow fall, sitting next to each other, cups of cocoa in their gloved hands.

Samus felt herself sighing at the comforting memory, happy nostalgia filling up inside her for the first time in a long time.

R.O.B. floated up. "You seem happy."

"I guess I am," she muttered, without thinking about it. "I mean… before Sonic… there was no friends, no boyfriends, no outside life… Sonic was…" She smiled out of pure nostalgia. "Sonic was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Is that so?" R.O.B. asked. "Let's see what you did with the best thing that ever happened to you."

Samus' smile vanished as the scenery shifted into a few years later. The warm looking school changed into a Samus' office building. Inside, Samus the younger was sitting behind a desk, a stack of the paper work that controlled her life in front of her, along with a desperate, sad and angry looking hedgehog in front of her, trying to reason with her.

_Oh, no, not this night… not this one…_

"Samus, are you serious?" Sonic asked. "Why couldn't you let him have another month like you said? You know Uncle Chuck hasn't been well lately! He can't work for himself with his injury, and I'm still trying to finish up college! We just need some more time!"

"You don't need time," Samus the younger said. "What you need is to pay off the loan. You had plenty of time, and you were saving up the money. And now, you don't have the money." She looked up from her work to look at the hedgehog. "So, what happened to it, Mr. Hedgehog?"

"I…" Sonic stammered. "You see, the truth is," he muttered, reaching into his pocket.

"I thought so," Samus replied. "You spent it on something trivial for Christmas. Like everyone else does. The evection notice stands. Good day, Mr. Hedgehog."

"But, Samus…!" Sonic tried to protest.

"_Good day_, Mr. Hedgehog!" she repeated.

Sonic's next words were words that would haunt Samus as she watched the scene again. "Do you even love me anymore? Do you remember what we said we'd do? What about everything we've been through together?"

"Trying to sucker me in with my emotions is rather dishonest, sir," she replied. "If you are done, please leave."

Sonic tried to speak, tried to think, tried to comprehend what hasp happening. Finally the words came out; "What happened to you?"

"I grew up," came the simple reply.

"Well," Sonic stuttered. "If that's the case… then good evening, _Ms. Aran_," he said angrily, walking out of the building.

The younger Samus didn't even acknowledge him leaving. She simply continued her work, leaving Samus the elder, watching from the window, to lament the actions she herself had committed. "I… I…" she stuttered, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes?" the spirit asked.

"I mean… what was I?" she stuttered.

Her thoughts were cut off when Sonic opened the door to Samus' then new office building. He walked down the path a bit, but then stopped and stared at the night sky.

"I thought…" he muttered, reaching into his coat pocket again.

"You what? You what?" Samus asked, running to the ghost of the past.

Sonic pulled a small case out of his pocket and flipped it open. Inside, was a bright diamond ring. His face filled with regret, anger, sadness, confusion and rage blurred into one. With an angry yell, he closed the box and threw it into the snow before running off to find some way to drown his sorrows.

Samus stood there, amazed and horrified. "He… was going to…"

"Propose, yes," R.O.B. said.

Samus was silent for a moment before speaking. "Take me back." Receiving no reply, she shouted, "Take me back! I've had enough! I've lived through this once before, and I don't need to live it again! Take me back!"

R.O.B. shook his head. "There is still more to see."

"I don't care! Take me back! Take me back now!" she shouted, raising her fist at the robot.

And then, everything vanished. The only thing there was R.O.B.'s words hanging in the air. "Remember Ms. Aran. You are the only one who was responsible for this."

Then, Samus found herself back in her bedroom, sitting on her bed. She blinked once, then twice, her mind trying to find the answer to what just happened. But nothing came to mind. Nothing but regret.

Samus simply sat there, wondering what she was doing with her life.

* * *

**Another chapter is up! Yeah, R.O.B. was the ghost of Christmas Past. He's almost as old as G&W, but he can speak, so that's why he made the part. Next time, the present!**


	3. Chapter 3

Despite her tired mind and body, Samus found that she was unable to sleep, kept awake by the images of her past, and how she had wasted it away. Despite trying to convince herself that it was a dream, but repeatedly whispering it, she knew, deep down, that it had all been real. Very, frighteningly real.

After a long time of lying awake, the clock struck the hour, the very same hour that the next spirit was said to appear. Samus swallowed as the clock dinged.

A bright light began to sneak through the cracks of Samus' closed door. Samus sighed out loud. Another one already. As if the memories the last had brought weren't painful enough.

"Well?" a loud, deep voice from the other room called. "Aren't you going to say hello?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Samus grumbled, getting out of bed to address the next ghost. This wasn't going to do a thing for her mood in the morning.

She opened the door of her bedroom and nearly fell over. Her entire house was gone. Just_ gone_. She found herself in a very warm and well lit parlor, filled with all sorts of foods. Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and cider and cocoa. The mixture of pleasant aromas assaulted her nose, and nearly knocked her over.

"Come on!" the loud voice yelled. "Come on in already!"

Samus sighed and began to search for the voice, only to find her foot in a blueberry pie. "Gah!" she said, angrily, and she hopped on one foot, trying to wipe the blue fruit filling of her sticky foot.

A very loud laugh came from above. Samus whirled to see a large penguin dressed in a parka, sitting on a large golden chair, surrounded by food with a turkey leg in his hand. "I can't believe it!" he said. "They said you had a blue heart, not a blue foot!" he began to laugh again, before putting the turkey leg into his mouth and eating it quickly.

"Stop mocking me!" Samus shouted.

"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud!" the penguin laughed as he pulled himself off the golden chair. "Come on, it's funny! I mean, you just stepped in a pie!" He began to laugh again.

Samus tried to yell back, but ended up slipping and landing on her rear end. "This is not funny!" she growled.

The massive penguin walked up and hauled her to her feet, laughing. "Come now, be happy!" he said. "It's not every day you get to meet the Ghost of Christmas Present!"

"The what?" Samus asked.

"The Ghost of Christmas Present!" he said, slapping her in the back. "I specialize in the here and the now! And the now is Christmas!"

"Oh, good," Samus muttered. "So what do you want with me?"

"Come on!" the Ghost replied. "You already spoke with your partner and the first spirit! You know what I want! It's like you haven't seen a spirit like me before!"

"That's because I haven't!" Samus replied.

"I wonder why," the ghost laughed. "Two thousand and ten of my brothers have come before me!"

If Samus had been drinking, she would have choked. "That many?" she asked, surprised.

"Yessir!" the Ghost replied. "One for every Christmas!"

Samus gave a surprised whistle. "That's one big grocery list."

The penguin burst out into another fit of laughter. "Oh, so you do have a sense of humor! Great! Well, then, let's go!"

"Go where?" Samus asked. "You're the Ghost of Christmas Present, and we're in the present now! Where would we go?"

The Ghost smiled and pulled out the largest hammer Samus had ever seen in her life, raising it in the air. For a terrified moment, Samus thought that he might smack her with it, but he smashed it to the ground with a deafening thud, kicking up a shower of sparks, blinding a surprised Samus.

When Samus was able to see again, after rubbing her eyes, she found herself and the spirit in the middle of Smash City… in the morning?

"Welcome to Christmas Morning!" The Ghost said, happily.

"Wait a second," Samus said. "How is this the present? This is Christmas morning! The sun is out and everything! You've taken us forward in time!"

"No," the spirit replied. "It's the same day! Christmas! We are therefore in the present!"

"No, we aren't!" Samus shouted back. "We've moved forward in time! We're in the…!"

The Spirit had gotten tired of Samus arguments and pulled out a turkey leg from nowhere, shoving it into her mouth. "Let's not argue with spirits now!" he said. "It's not polite."

Samus folded her arms angrily and spat out the turkey leg.

"Well, seeing that you have nothing else to contribute, let's be off!" he declared, using his mallet as a makeshift cane as he pulled the woman down the bustling Christmas morning streets. People, unaware of their existence (Samus felt grateful for that) merrily greeting each other on the happy morning, with a "Merry Christmas!"

Samus felt a gag coming on.

"Ah!" the spirit breathed. "Isn't this nice? With all these happy faces, rich and poor, sinners and saints, all here, making friends with one another! If only every day was like this one!"

"If every day were like this one, we'd all be starving," Samus snapped. "We'd all be wasting money on blasted presents every day. If every day was Christmas, the human race would be extinct. Christmas is a selfish holiday and a waste of time!"

"Oh, really?" asked the spirit. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I have to do everything in my power to prove you wrong!" he said, before dragging Samus down the streets, chuckling to himself.

"Gah!" Samus shouted. "Where are you taking me?"

"Someplace that's overflowing with kindness!" the Spirit replied. "There!"

He pointed to a dark, shambled looking house that looked like it could fall down any minute. The house was broken looking, and it appeared to be abandoned. Samus would have believed it was, if she didn't see lights from the windows.

"Okay, I'll bite. Where are we?"

The Ghost led Samus into the house, passing through the wall, and Samus found herself in a small, humble kitchen. By the stove, a brunette was stirring a tiny pan of gravy. It took a second for Samus to recognize the woman as Zelda, her secretary. "Oh, great," she muttered. "Zelda's house. I wonder what sort of life lesson I will learn here!" she said, her voice dripping with false happiness and sarcasm.

"Zelda, Zelda!" shouted a pair of voices.

A nearly identical, save for their outfits and genders, boy and girl ran through the kitchen, each holding a paper flower. "We made some Poinsett… Poinsetti…" the boy stuttered with the words.

"Poinsettias!" Zelda said, delighted, taking the deep red paper flower out of the boy's hand and twirling it between her fingers. "How nice!" Popo, Nana, good job!"

"Welcome!" the girl replied, obviously pleased with their work.

"These will make a wonderful centerpiece," Zelda remarked, handing the flower back to Popo. "It's absolutely perfect. Thank you so much!"

Samus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how heartwarming. Paper flowers. Is this supposed to make me like Christmas?" she asked the Ghost.

The Ghost remained silent.

"Maybe next year we can have _real_ flowers!" Nana said.

"Nana," Zelda sighed. "You know that with everything else we need to buy this time of year we don't have enough for real flowers. Besides," she added. "The flowers you made won't die, so we can use them next year."

"I guess so," the two muttered in unison.

However, the girl quickly brightened. "Is dinner ready yet?"

"Almost…" Zelda said, stirring the gravy again. "We'll be ready as soon as the turkey is finished. How about you go get the others for dinner? Have Ike and Lucas gotten back from the Church yet?"

"Not yet," Popo replied, as Nana ran off to get the others. "They're pretty late, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," Zelda replied. "But, don't worry about it; I'm sure they'll be back soon."

"I hope so!" Popo said. "I'm getting hungry!"

"Don't worry!" Zelda laughed. "Oh!" she said, as the oven beeped, "the turkey is ready!" She opened the oven and pulled out a small, golden brown turkey.

"That's a turkey?" Samus said. "Looks like a chicken to me."

"Well, they couldn't afford a big one, because of Zelda's low wages. Gee, I wonder who could fix that?" the spirit said.

Samus scowled in response.

The door to the small house opened and in walked a tall man with blue hair, with a small blonde boy on his shoulder, who was carrying a crutch. "We're back!" they announced in unison.

A tiny yellow mouse creature ran in after them, loudly chirping, "Pika!"

"Ike, Lucas, and Pikachu!" Zelda said. "Finally back, I see."

"Yeah," the short one, Lucas, said, as Ike put him down. The boy hobbled over to Zelda with is crutch as Zelda leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Me and Ike and Pika took the long way home today! I got to see the river! I hope the ducks come back soon!"

"Oh, how nice!" Zelda said, as she helped the small child to his place on the table, as Pikachu took his place at the foot of the table, waiting for the inevitable dropping of food.

The blue haired man walked up to Zelda and wrapped his arms around her waist, only to get elbowed in the stomach. "What was that for?" he asked, as if she had elbowed him hard enough to hurt him.

"Why did you take the long way home?" Zelda question angrily. "You know that it isn't good for him!"

"I know," Ike said. "But, you know, it's Christmas. The kid likes the lake, you know? It would do him some good, seeing as its Christmas. He needs to be happy."

Zelda sighed. "Oh, I guess you're right. He does love the lake." She sighed. "I wish we could take him there more often. But, with his health…"

Ike raised his hand. "None of that, you," he said. "It's Christmas. I expect everyone to smile okay?" He grinned. "Especially you. You're prettiest when you're happy."

"Oh, you little suck-up," Zelda chuckled. "How was he at Church?"

"As good as gold. In fact, he was better. He told me that he hoped people saw him in the aisle, so that they remembered the guy who made blind men see, and lame men walk," Ike said, solemnly.

Zelda nodded, a slightly sad look in her eyes. "Alright, go get Ness and Toon Link, and get them downstairs for dinner. Our guests will be home soon."

"Gotcha," Ike replied, before walking to the stairs and shouting for the boys to come down.

There was a knock on the door, and Douglass Falcon poked his head in, announcing, "We're here!" before opening the door and letting Olimar and Yoshi in. Falcon had a large bottle of punch, while Olimar had a bowl of vegetables. Yoshi had brought a steaming bowl of mashed potatoes that he set on the table as Zelda let them into her house, taking their coats, hugging them, and thanking them for the food they had brought. Nana and Popo greeted them the same way, while little Lucas sat there, waving and smiling.

"Don't mention it," Olimar had replied to Zelda. "The presents will be here soon enough."

"Oh, good," Zelda said. "Please sit at the table, make yourselves comfortable. Falcon, did you bring the punch?"

"Falcon Punch, right here!" Falcon said, holding the bottle up.

"Great!" Lucas said. "Oh, this looks great!" the boy said as another boy with black hair and a striped shirt joined the others at the table. "Oh, look at all the food!" he said, breathing rapidly. "The turkey! The turk…" The boy tried to get the words out, but began coughing wildly.

Ike and Zelda ran up and grabbed the boy, patting him on the back and telling him to breath. Pikachu poked his head out from under the table, a worried expression on his face. The boy stopped coughing after a few seconds and muttered, "Sorry."

"No, no," Zelda said. "It's okay, Lucas. Don't worry. Just breathe, okay? We'll start dinner soon."

"O…okay," Lucas replied.

"Let me go grab his medicine, just in case," Ike whispered to Zelda.

"Alright," Zelda replied. "Just in case. Hurry back."

"What the heck was that?" Samus asked as Ike ran off to get the medicine from upstairs.

"Oh, Lucas is sick," the spirit replied casually. "Really sick, in fact."

"Oh," Samus replied.

"You okay?" asked Falcon as he sat down.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "I'm alright."

"Good. I'd hate to see you get sick when you get your…" He looked away, to check if anyone was watching. "… awesome present..."

"Really?" asked Lucas. "What is it?"

"Douglas," Zelda warned. "I want to keep it a surprise. So don't you spoil it!"

"I wasn't gonna tell!" Douglas protested. "But it's gonna be awesome!" he whispered to Lucas, who grinned.

Soon, everyone was at the table, chatting to each other about what a happy day they had been having, and how glad they were to be together. Samus felt a tinge of envy. Just the slightest.

Soon, there was a loud knock on the door, and Zelda and Ike quickly rose to answer it. They helped a slightly short figure carrying half a dozen boxes into the house.

It took a second for Samus to recognize him. She blinked once. Then twice. "_Sonic?"_

It was indeed. The blue hedgehog helped put the presents under the humble looking Christmas tree and hugged Ike and Zelda, before heading to the table and greeting all the kids with a hug or a pat on the head.

"It's great to see you," the hedgehog said to everyone. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" the children all replied.

"So," the hedgehog continued, "what's for dinner?"

Zelda laughed. "Okay, okay, now that you're here it's time for dinner."

The group of friends and orphans sat at the table and began to have grace together, thankful for what little food they had.

Samus stood there, invisible, her mouth hanging open. "He… he still lives here? I thought he… left…"

"Oh, no, he couldn't afford to leave," the spirit said. "He spent his money to pay for care for his Uncle. He's in a care home in the next city over."

"Well, why couldn't he go these with him?" Samus asked.

"He didn't have anything left for an apartment there. He works a few jobs around town to pay for his Uncle and his apartment. To be honest, he's struggling with it, and he's going bankrupt, but he's keeping his spirits up and trying harder."

"Well, if that's the case, why doesn't he take out a loan?" Samus asked.

"Oh, you're the only loan shark in the city!" the Spirit said. "Too many bad memories borrowing from you. Besides, he probably wouldn't be able to pay the money back in time, and then he'd be bankrupt again. Besides," he added. "You don't lend money to dead-beets, do you? Sonic saved up for a while to deliver those presents, and he didn't pay for all of them!

Samus felt guilt building up inside her. She didn't like it.

"Ah, he probably wouldn't move away anyway," the Spirit said. "He likes the kids too. He's been volunteering at this place for a while, just helping around with things. Heck, he even fixed the roof!"

"Oh," was all Samus could muster. "I just… can't believe I never noticed him here."

"Well, if you got your face out of your accounting books and into the world of the living, then maybe you would have," the Ghost replied. "Besides that, I don't think he'd be happy to see you."

"Well, Zelda never mentioned him," Samus said. "Never mentioned that guy, either."

"Oh, Ike?" the Spirit asked. "That's her boyfriend. Been together for five years, running this place with her."

"They haven't gotten married yet?" Samus asked.

"Ike can't afford it," the Spirit replied. "Neither can Zelda. They haven't been able to send of one of the kids to a proper home, and they just barely passed their last health inspection. They only just manage to feed them all. If Pikachu wasn't essentially their guard dog, they'd have to give him to a shelter." The Spirit's words were true. A Pikachu could pack enough electric power to knock over a full grown man, but that was beside the point.

Samus quietly muttered, "I pay Zelda so little…"

"Ms. Aran!" Zelda suddenly said.

"Zelda?" asked Samus. Had her overworked secretary just acknowledged her presence? "Zelda?" she asked again.

"Being the time of the year that it is, I think it's only right to acknowledge our benefactor and provider," Zelda said with her glass in the air. "I give you Ms. Aran, the founder of the feast!"

Samus raised a surprised eyebrow. Had someone used her name in a _positive _manner?

"Founder of the feast my a-!" Ike began, gritting his teeth.

"Ike!" Zelda hissed. "The children!" she whispered.

"Zelda, come on," Douglas said. "You don't have to praise the dragon lady today. She'd think we were all a bunch of suck up chumps."

"Besides," Olimar added, "you know how she feels about today." Yoshi nodded in agreement.

"But Ms. Aran is our employer," Zelda pointed out.

"Zelda, she's your _slave driver_," said Ike. "She works you all year, and pays you for a month's work, and she almost didn't give you your off time for Christmas! You can't seriously want to thank her for all this pain she puts you through! If she was here right now, I'd give her a chunk of my mind to feast on, and I hope she would choke on it!" He looked to Sonic, who was awkwardly looking at his glass of punch, uncomfortable with the subject. "Sonic, you used to date her. You know what she is, right?"

Sonic was silent for a moment. "Samus… has changed," he said, slowly.

Samus gave a breath of relief. "He didn't insult me."

"He didn't complement you either," The Spirit pointed out.

Samus frowned as the children joined in on insulting her.

"She's mean!" Nana said.

"She's just a big witch!" Popo said.

"She's greedy and selfish!" Toon Link said.

"And she hates Christmas!" Ness said, disdain evident in his voice.

"But guys," Lucas said. "She did found our feast! She gave us the money to…" the boy paused has he began to cough again, then continued, "buy all this great food. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her!"

Ike's temper cooled quickly. "I… guess you're right," he said, humility in his voice. "I'll drink for all of your sake, but not for hers; to Ms. Aran!" he said, raising his glass.

"To Ms. Aran," the others replied. But the lack of enthusiasm was painfully evident; Samus was the ogre of the group, and her name never brought joy with it.

But as soon as the negativity drained away, the party continued, its power greater than before. There was laughing, singing, and happiness. The joy escalated when the children opened their presents, and got such simple but wonderful gifts; Ness had received a yo-yo; Nana cradled a new doll in her hand, while Popo admired his fake handyman hammer. Toon Link twirled a plastic sword, while Lucas happily examined his toy snake, and Pikachu played with a rubber ball.

Music was played on an old looking radio as the children and adults alike, danced together, with an exception of Lucas, who was at the side, laughing and clapping while Ike and Zelda danced. The boy looked so ill, and so frail, and yet, at the same time, he was so happy.

"Spirit," she said. "Tell me… will Lucas live? He only has a bug right?"

The Spirit gave a rumbling sigh. "My time is in the present. But, if the shadows of this time aren't lifted, I see an empty seat in the corner, and a little crutch without an owner."

"Wha… what?" Samus asked, surprised. "Don't say that kind of thing!" she shouted. "He'll be alright… won't he?"

The Spirit raised an eyebrow. "Well, if he's going to die, he had better do it! And decrease the surplus population!"

Any retort Samus had was cut off, as her own words filled her ears and her heart felt heavier.

"I…" she whispered. "I… can't believe I said…"

"Know who the surplus are before you condemn them, Ms. Aran," the spirit said. "No one is worthless or unfit to live."

Samus hung her head, guilt present on her face. "He looks… so happy, with them," she said, referring to Sonic, who was joking with Lucas.

"He's with family," the Spirit replied. "They may not be related by blood, but they are family."

"I wish I had a family to spend Christmas with," Samus muttered before she could realize it.

"Have you forgotten? You do! Let's go see what they're doing!"

Before Samus could protest, the Spirit smacked the ground with his hammer, and in another burst, they found themselves in front of a new house. A house she almost didn't recognize. "Link's house?" she muttered.

"Yup," the Spirit answered. "I'm surprised you remembered the place, seeing as you're almost never here."

Samus sighed and walked to the door, passing through it and walking inside.

She almost walked straight through a woman, dressed in dark clothes with a very pale face. Samus gave a surprised yelp, as the woman walked by, dressed in a black sweater with blue-green markings on it. It took her a moment to recognize her niece in law, Midna. Link's wife.

"Ah, looks like you're running into family already!" the Spirit said, as he caught up with her.

"I guess so," Samus said. "Never talked much with her though."

"Really?" the Spirit said, as they followed Midna down the hall. "You haven't visited them at all?"

Samus sighed. "Why do you even ask? You know the answer."

The Spirit shrugged as they arrived in the living room.

Link was standing in front of the other guests; a pink puffball named Jigglypuff, a dark shrouded figure named Meta Knight, who was sitting next to Jigglypuff, and another couple, a woman in yellow, and a man in green, whom Samus recognized as Mr. Luigi, the man she was evicting. He had a very nervous look on his face, though he was evidently trying to keep happy for the sake of the season.

"She did not day that!" laughed Jigglypuff.

"She did!" Link said. "She really did! Heh, and she threw out my present too. Oh well, that's auntie for you."

"Oh, great," Samus said. "He's making fun of me."

"Have you given him reason to praise you?" asked the Spirit, chuckling.

"Oh, that old witch is one big old grouch, isn't she, Link," asked Daisy, Luigi's lady-friend.

"Eh, I guess so," Link said. "But, you know what? No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to hate her."

"Really now?" Meta Knight said. His gravely tone disguised his surprise. "Despite her greed, even?"

Link shrugged. "It's not helping her any. And it never will. Aunt Samus may be greedy, but I think she's just lonely. I know it's hard to believe, but my father thought a great deal about her. If only for his sake, I'll invite her to the party every year."

"That's just like you," Midna said, elbowing her husband. "Always the angel boy."

Link grinned sheepishly in response.

"Luigi had to meet with her yesterday." Daisy bragged. "But he wasn't scared at all, were you Luigi?"

"Uh, no, of course not!" Luigi said, grinning. He obviously hadn't told Daisy of how the meeting ended, and the eviction notice that was doubtlessly waiting for them at home.

"Well, maybe she's getting softer," Link said. "Heck, maybe one day, she will come for dinner."

"Maybe she will," Midna admitted. "If she does, I guess we'll have to greet her. For Marth's sake."

Link nodded, holding his wife close. "Yeah, for Marth's sake."

Samus wanted, for the first time in a long time, to embrace Link. To hold him, to love him, and to acknowledge he was her nephew and only blood relative.

The Spirit tapped her on the shoulder. She turned, and saw that something had changed; the Spirit, who looked young earlier, now had long grey whiskers growing down his beak. "Come," he said. "My time grows short."

Another hammer slam, and Samus found herself in cold and dark place; a graveyard. "Why did you take me here?" she asked. "What's wrong with you?"

"My time is at an end," the Spirit said, happiness in his voice despite the fact he was dying. "In a while, the present will be over, and I will go back to the maker. So, I must bid you adieu."

"What?" Samus said, surprised. "But I still have so much I want to see! Why can't you stay longer?"

"Sorry," the Spirit said. "But you now how it is! One day, you're awake and lively and the next, poof, you're dead! But don't worry! You won't be alone! I'm leaving you in the company of the Ghost of Christmas yet to come!"

"The future?" Samus said, horror in her tone.

"Yep," the Spirit replied. "So what are you waiting for? Go and say hi!" he laughed as he began to vanish, returning to the maker and gone from the world.

Samus stood there, feeling very much alone.

Fog began to ensnare the graveyard, darkening the air. Samus gave a frightened shout as the fog enveloped her, blocking her view.

"Hey!" she shouted. "What's going on?"

Her only answer was a dark, gloved hand that rested itself on her shoulder.

Samus whirled to see the tallest, darkest, and most horrifying looking man she had ever seen.

"The Future…" was all she mutter.

* * *

**A/N:**

**A reviewer said that Pit would have been a better Ghost of Christmas Past. I apologize for using R.O.B., as Pit would have been a better choice.**


	4. Chapter 4

**And now, I shall attempt to tug at your heartstrings. Please have a tissue box on standby, just in case.**Yellow eyes glared into bright blue ones as the dark Spirit stared at Samus, paralyzing her. His large hand hadn't left her shoulder, gripping it firmly.

* * *

The Spirit was a massive being, wrapped in black clothes. Dark mud green skin coated his face, with deep pumpkin orange hair. His eyes glowed like topaz and his mouth was curved into a disgusted looking sneer.

Samus gathered her word. "You… you're the Ghost of Christmas future, right?"

The Spirit's only answer was a single nod.

"I thought so," Samus replied. "So, you're going to show me what's going to happen now?"

Another nod.

"Not a very talkative guy are you?" she muttered. "Alright, shall we?"

With another nod the Spirit raised his hand. Dark mist swirled around it, dark amethyst flames burning like a dying flame. With a wave of his hand, a swirling black and violet portal opened.

Samus took a gulp and looked at the Spirit. He pointed into the swirling vortex.

"Alright then," she said, as the Spirit led her into the swirling darkness.

The chilling shadows seemed to creep down her back as she and the Spirit walked through what seemed to be a tunnel of blackness.

When Samus stepped out, she found herself on a grey, rainy looking day. The streets of Smash City were almost empty, and rain pattered on the road.

Samus had a very bad feeling as she walked down the streets of the city. It seemed like a different place now. She wondered if some kind of plague had broken loose and wiped the people out. However, her fear was thankfully contrasted by the appearance of an angel winged young man, who walked around the corner with a red haired man, who was chatting with him.

"Are you serious?" the angel said as they rounded the corner and walked past the invisible duo.

"I am," the red haired man replied. "She died last night."

"Wow," the angel said. "How'd it happen?"

"It's kinda funny, in a creepy kinda way," said the red haired one. "She's walking home from a day of being a witch, and she gets to a crosswalk, and when she's walking across she sees a quarter on the ground, being the miser that she is. She doesn't see the light turn green, and an ambulance goes around the corner and hits here." The angel winced as his friend finished. "The news said she died on impact."

Samus frowned. _Who's stupid enough to do that?_

"Eww," the angel said. "That's too bad."

"Ah, don't take it too hard. Not like she was loved or anything."

"Yeah," the angel said. "So, anyway, who's getting her fortune?"

"Not me, that's for sure," the red head said. "She probably though she could take it with her!"

"Well, even with all that cash, I can't imagine the funereal will be nice. No one will show up."

"No one wants too," the red head said.

"Guess you're right. Well, gotta go. Palutena is waiting for me at home, and she won't be happy if I'm late."

"Gotcha. Seeya Pit."

"Later Roy," Pit replied. "Merry Christmas."

Then, they parted, walking off in different ways.

"Dang," Samus said. "They act like that when someone dies?"

The Spirit didn't answer once more. He merely pointed to a small pawn shop that lay across the street.

Taking that as her cue, Samus walked inside to the building, titled, Mewtwo's pawn shop, as more people conversed. However, they spoke of business.

"Beep! Beep!" said a dark silhouette as he waved around a cheap looking piece of cloth.

"Calm down!" demanded an angry looking purple cat-like creature, which Samus assumed was Mewtwo, who was glaring at his customers. "All right, I'll take a look at what you have. Let's see."

"Chu! Pichu!" shouted a small yellow creature waving around a pair of shoes. She plopped them on the table proudly.

"What on Earth are these?" the purple creature asked. "That's it? It's just a pair of boots. They look pretty worn out too…" Mewtwo frowned. "I'll give you four dollars for them."

"Pichu! Pichu chu!" the yellow mini Pikachu shouted angrily.

"Be glad I'm giving anything to you, rodent!" snapped Mewtwo. "Next."

The flat shadow man walked up and placed the cloth he was holding on the table.

"Are these…?" Mewtwo began. "Bed curtains? You ripped them right off her bed? And wouldn't you know," the creature muttered, "they're still warm! I don't pay extra for warmness, you know."

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Mewtwo's grumpy demeanor shrank away and he gave a small chuckle. "You're right, it was the only warmth she had!" he laughed. "Alright, I'll give you extra for the pun. Go and buy a life with it," he said, handing twenty dollars over to the shadow.

The two creatures left the pawn shop, unhappy with their wages as Samus and the Spirit looked on.

"So," Samus said. "People are even stealing her things? What kind of future is this?"

The Spirit didn't answer.

"Is this all there is in the future?" asked Samus. "All of this? Isn't there a place of warmth? A place where people are happy?"

The Spirit raised his hand, and the violet fog encircled them again, blinding Samus. Before she could complain, it cleared, and she found herself in front of Zelda's foster home again.

"Oh, thank goodness this place is still here," Samus breathed. "Zelda's poor, but even she and her kids are happy now!" she said, walking up to the door.

But then, the silence found her ears. There was no laughter, no singing, no children playing, and no sounds of joy whatsoever. "Awfully quiet," Samus mused.

She peered inside the building to see Zelda. She was leaning over the stove, stirring a pot of gravy, her head held low, and her face somber. A small tear trickled down her eye as she stirred the pot slowly.

_What's going on?_ Samus thought.

"Zelda?" asked a small voice.

Ness was walking down the stairs, his face sad as well. "We're all packed up now. We're ready to…" he sniffled, "go now."

"Oh." Zelda's voice was empty. "Very well. Please call the others down."

"Okay," Ness said, in a quiet voice.

"What's going on?" asked Samus as she entered the house. "Why do they need to be packed?" she demanded.

The Spirit followed her inside, silent as always.

Soon, the children were all downstairs, as Zelda began to slowly set the table for dinner with them, her face somber.

"Zelda?" asked Nana. "Are you crying?"

"Oh, no!" Zelda said. "I just got some dust in my eye," Zelda said as she began to rub her eyes. "I don't want to show weak eyes for Ike when he gets back."

"He's walked a lot slower these past few days," Toon Link said sadly.

There was a knock on the door, and Ike walked inside, his face equally downcast. "Hey, everyone."

"Hi Ike," the children all replied in unison.

"Hello Ike," Zelda said, sadly.

Ike cleared his throat. "Well… I found the spot. It's by the lake. On the hill, so Lucas can watch the ducks. Lucas… he always…"

"Lucas always liked to watch the ducks," Zelda finished, her voice sad.

That was all it took for Samus to figure it out. "No! No, not Lucas!"

In the back, Nana began to sob, and Popo quickly ran up to his sister to comfort her.

"Is… dinner ready?" Ike asked slowly.

"It will be soon," Zelda said. "As soon as Sonic comes over."

"He's late," Toon Link said sadly. "He's never been late before though."

Another knock, and Sonic entered, the saddest look on his face Samus had seen since their break up. "Hey," he said sadly.

"Hi Sonic," the children replied, walking over to embrace him.

"So," Sonic said his voice very somber. "Tonight's the last night huh?"

"Yes," Zelda said. "Tomorrow, the children leave."

The children all looked very downcast. Their heads were hung low as they sat at the table, for what would be their last meal together.

"Wait!" Samus shouted to the Spirit. "Why do they have to leave? Why can't they stay?"

The Spirit floated to a desk and pointed at it. Samus walked over and examined the mess of bills, bills, and more bills. Zelda had lost her job, and was now bankrupt.

"The children," she whispered. "They're ward of the state now. She can't take care of them."

"Kids," Zelda said, as she sat at the table. "I… I know a lot of bad things have happened lately. And I'm just as sad as you are. But, it's Christmas. And as Christmas, I think we should try to keep our spirits up and hope for the better. We don't have presents, we have little food, and, as of two days ago…" she paused and sniffled. "We no longer have Lucas. But, I know that he want us to be happy together, and even though you're leaving tomorrow, I think, we should try to remember. Remember all the good times, and cherish those memories forever. I'm sure we will never forget little Lucas, or any of the good memories he brought us."

The children nodded, and Sonic wiped away a tear. Ike tried to keep his face expressionless, but the pain was evident on his face.

The group said grace, and ate their meal in solemn silence. When the children had gone to bed, Sonic stood to leave, embracing his hosts. "I'm so sorry," he whispered sadly.

"We all are," Ike said. "We all are."

"No!" Samus shouted, as if her words could change the way things were going. "No, no, no, this isn't right!" She turned to the Spirit. "This can't be how it ends!" she shouted. "What about everything they've been through together? This is how it's going to end? The children leaving, Zelda broke, and Lucas… Lucas _dying?_"

The Spirit was silent.

"Say something, damn it!" Samus shouted.

Silence, silence, and more silence.

"Fine!" Samus shouted. "Be that way, you sick…" She paused, when she noticed the scenery had changed. She was standing in the graveyard again.

"We… we have to come back to this awful place?" she asked.

The Spirit nodded.

"Why? What's there to show-?"

"Hey, great funereal, huh?" a voice boomed.

Samus whirled to see a massive spiked turtle like creature, digging a hole with a pair of mushroom like monsters, both of which were laughing at the larger creature's joke. A snow covered tombstone lay in the ground, and a dark coffin was lying beside them.

"Wow, look at all the sadness in the air," the turtle continued. "All of the people dressed in black! Surely, this woman was a beloved icon of the city!"

"Good one, boss!" one of the mushrooms joked.

"Well, as much as I'd love to mourn the passing of this poor woman, I think I'll go get a bite at the diner. Who's coming?"

"But boss," one the fungi asked. "What about the burial?"

"What about it!" the turtle replied. "She ain't getting any deader!"

The mushrooms burst into laughter and followed their boss away, eager for a bite to eat, leaving Samus and the spirit alone.

"Spirit?" asked Samus. "I have one more question. I dread the answer, but I must ask." She paused and asked, "Who was the woman, whose death brought so much joy to the people?"

The Spirit pointed to the gravestone, covered in snow, with a hole dug in front of it.

Samus slowly began to walk to the stone, her heart filled with dread. She felt herself freeze, and whirled around to the Spirit. "One more thing," she said. "Are these the things that _will _be, or the things that _can_ be?"

The Spirit was silent as ever.

"This can all be changed right?" she asked. "Why would you show me this if I was past all hope?" she continued to walk to the grave, but then turned again, saying, "A life can be made right!" as if it could change everything.

The Spirit remained silent. He pointed at the grave again.

Samus kneeled in front of the grave, dread welling up inside her. Slowly, she began to wipe the snow away from the tombstone, revealing the letter. Her voice trembled as she read her own name.

"Samus Aran," she sobbed. She whirled at the Spirit. "Oh, Spirit, please no! I'm not who I used to be! I've changed! I see what I am now, and what I was! It can't end like this!" she screamed, gesturing at the grave. "It can't end like that! The world can't be like this! I never got to tell the others I was sorry! I never got to see Lucas get better, or Link and Midna have a family!" She paused and then added, "I never got to tell Sonic how much I hate myself for leaving him! You have to let me try again! Give me another chance! Please!"

The Spirit was as unwavering as ever.

"I promise to change!" she shouted. "I'll hold my friends and family dearly! I'll give to those who have nothing, and I'll keep Christmas and all its virtues in my heart for all of time!"

Silence was her answer as usual.

Samus couldn't take it anymore. She broke into tears and crawled to the Spirit. "Please say I can make this right!" she sobbed. "Please tell me that I can change this all! Please!"

She grabbed the Spirit's cloak and begged once more, "Please!"

Mist swirled around her as she cried, and she felt herself fall through the Spirit's cloak and land on her own bed, in her own house.

* * *

**Thank goodness I'm done with that. Hope I made you feel a little sad. **

**Anyways, dang that was hard to write. I actually ran out of characters from Brawl, so I ended up using Melee Exclusive characters. If I knew I was going to include them, I'd have tried to give Mewtwo a better part.**

**Man, I miss Mewtwo. Lucario is okay, but I like Mewtwo a lot more. Oh well.**

**Anyway, please stay tuned for next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

Slowly, Samus opened one eye, and then the other. A slow smile began to creep onto her face. Yes, the bedpost was her own, the room was her own, and the house was her own!

"I'm back!" she whispered.

Samus burst out of her bed onto the floor and ran to the window. She opened it and looked out into the snowy morning. She could hear church bells ringing in the distance, and carolers on the streets. For the first time in a long time, Samus looked at the sky and screamed, "I'm back!" she shouted. She retreated back into her room, running to the closet to change her clothes. On her way she noticed several shotgun shells lying on the ground, and bullet holes in the wall, leftover when she tried to shoot Wolf. Instead of getting angry, she simply smiled. "I'll have to replace the wall now!" she laughed. She ran into the closet and pulled out a bright blue jacket she hadn't worn in ages, along with a pair of periwinkle gloves, and last, after a bit of closet digging, she pulled out the beret that Sonic had given her. Blowing a bit of dust off of it, she put it on daintily. She began to rush out her bedroom door, halfway dressed, when she stopped. "Wait a minute," she said. "I don't even know how long I was gone, or what day it is!"

Samus ran to the window again. She then looked down to the streets and saw a pink puffball creature walking by, eating a donut. "You, you down there!" she called.

The creature stared at her, his expression becoming fearful. He began to run away, until Samus yelled. "Wait! I just want to know what day it is!"

The creature turned around, his fear filled face replaced with a disbelieving one. "Today?" he replied. "It's Christmas Day! Who forgets about Christmas day?"

If Samus would have had a comeback, she didn't know. She laughed out loud and threw her hands in the air. "It's Christmas! I didn't miss it after all! They did it all in one night!" Her outburst surprised the puffball, and her next request surprised him even more. "What's your name, young man?"

"Uh, Kirby, ma'am!" he replied.

"Kirby, what a wonderful name!" Samus replied happily. "Do you know about the deli that's around the corner? The twenty four hour one?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Kirby replied.

"Great! Have they sold that turkey in the window yet?"

"The little one?"

"No, the big one!"

"No ma'am!" Kirby replied.

"Good boy!" Samus said happily. "Now I want you to go there and buy it!"

The boy blinked and stared at Samus as if she had grown another head.

"I'm serious!" she shouted. Thinking quickly, she ran inside and opened her underwear drawer, pulling out a hidden, metal container that contained a good deal of money inside, it. Samus had planned to use it for a rainy day that never came, but she decided that it was time to make acceptations. Running back to the window, Samus threw the container down to the surprised puffball. The durable container stayed intact, and Kirby picked it up. After opening the container and nearly falling over at the large amount of money inside, Samus shouted, "Buy the turkey and bring it here! And keep the change!"

Kirby nodded and ran off, grinning widely.

"Wait!" Samus cried after him. When the boy turned back to her she called out, "Merry Christmas!" with tears leaking from her eyes. "Always remember to say Merry Christmas!"

"I will, ma'am!" Kirby replied. "Merry Christmas!"

Grinning likea loon, Samus ran into her closet, dressing quickly in the clothes she had pulled out. She emerged, dressed in her nicest; ready to make amends for her awful behavior. She looked at herself in the mirror, happy with her appearance, and ready to face the world as a new woman.

Seconds later, she heard the door-bell ring. She rushed down the stairs as quickly as she could without tripping and flung open the door. Kirby was waiting there with the massive turkey.

"Oh, it's perfect!" Samus said, delighted. "Thank you very, very much!"

"Welcome," groaned Kirby from under the heavy turkey.

Samus picked up the turkey with little effort and tucked as well as she could under her arm. "Thank you!" she said happily. "Be sure to stop by sometime! And spend that money well, you hear?" She winked playfully.

Kirby nodded. "I will ma'am!" he said, before running off to the 24-hour all you can eat buffet. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Samus replied, meaning every word. Before leaving, however, her eye caught glimpse of her knocker, the same one Wolf had appeared on. She wiped the grime off of it and mentally promised to treasure it always.

And so, Samus began her walk to her first destination: the twenty four hour super-store. Thankfully, not all the employees there celebrated Christmas, so it could afford to be open all this time. (And the fact that the employees got a Christmas bonus probably helped).

Once she was there, at once she threw off the chains of stinginess and spent money. Not for herself, but for others. She bought presents for children, boys, girls, and adults alike. By the time she was done, she left the bewildered cashier a generous tip and called for a cab, heading towards her office building wither precious cargo.

When she had dropped some of the presents, wonderfully wrapped, at her building, added labels to them, and wrote a note, and took a few things from the office, namely the scarf she had been given by Link the other day, which was still lying on Falcon's desk. She quickly opened it up and wrapped the scarf around her neck, happily. Then, she walked down to Zelda's house, the turkey under her arm. While on the street, she saw two very familiar faces: Fox and Falco, the duo that had been asking for donations the other day. Putting on a smile, she walked over to them.

Falco was the first to notice her. "Aw, crud," he muttered.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," she said kindly. "Could I borrow a moment of your time?"

"Ms. Aran, you made it quite clear yesterday that you have no desire to donate," Fox said, keeping his voice neutral, though anger was faintly evident.

"Oh, no, I came to apologize for my inexcusable behavior yesterday. Will this cover for a suitable donation?" she asked, pulling a large wad of bills from her wallet.

The two animals' eyes widened in surprise as Samus offered the money to them. "That much…?" Fox choked out.

"Is it not enough?"

"Oh, no!" Fox said, taking the money. "That's more than enough, ma'am! Thank you!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Falco said with his eyes wide open in surprise.

"Oh, thank you so much," Samus replied, feeling a weight lifted off her soul. "I hope it does someone some good. Stop by my office anytime if you need more!"

"Uh, of course we will!" Fox said, removing his house. "Thank you, Ms. Aran!"

"Please. Call me Samus. Ms. Aran makes me sound old."

"Gotcha," Fox said. "Thank you, Samus. Merry Christmas to you!"

"Merry Christmas!" she replied, walking off to continue to Zelda's house, leaving a bewildered Fox and a speechless Falco.

Samus happily walked off, leaving the bewildered collectors behind to try to accept what they had just seen. Samus thought about whom to visit next. There certainly were a lot of people to help. However, her attention was taken away by a familiar figure walking down the street. A figure with long blue quills walking with a small stack of presents.

"Sonic…" she muttered.

Smiling nervously, she walked over to the hedgehog who was struggling to carry the presents and call for a cab at the same time. She began to walk forward to her ex-lover, unsure of what to say, or how to say it. She couldn't even imagine saying hi to him. How would he feel? Would he chase her off, or listen to what she had to say?

Her thoughts were put aside when she saw Sonic lose his balance and almost drop the presents he was holding. She burst forward and caught a few boxes, saving the presents from a few tears.

"Oh, thanks!" Sonic said, not realizing who it was.

"You're welcome," Samus said, feeling very shy all the sudden.

Sonic's eyes widened in recognition, and his mouth hung open for a second or two. "S-Samus?"

Samus didn't know what to say. The only thing she could think of was, "Hey, Sonic," which slipped out her lips a few seconds later.

"What… I mean, may I help you, Ms. Aran?" Sonic said, with a combination of surprise and aggression in his voice.

Samus inwardly sighed, though she knew she shouldn't. She didn't deserve immediate forgiveness. Things needed to start small. Namely, with an apology.

"Sonic…" she began, choosing her words carefully. "I can't expect you to forgive me for what I did. I was an awful person to you, and to so many, just because I was just so selfish. But, whether you forgive me or not, I have something for you." She offered the turkey to the surprised hedgehog. "You're heading for Zelda's party, right?"

"What?" Sonic said. "How did you…?"

"I heard about it yesterday," Samus said. It was true enough. "Now, I want you and Zelda, and all those children, to have this turkey and enjoy it, okay? I think they could use a bit more food then what they get now."

Sonic blinked, trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. "You want me to take the turkey?" he asked slowly.

Samus slapped herself on the forehead. "Oh, no, I forgot. You're carrying all those presents _and_ that turkey! How could I be so selfish!" She raised her hand and yelled for a taxi. Thankfully, one happened to be driving by at the moment, and it quickly pulled over. Samus put Sonic's presents and the turkey into the seat, before letting the bewildered hedgehog in himself. She quickly shoved a handful of money into his hands, stating, "This should be enough for the cab ride," she said. "Get there, and please, please keep my name out of it, okay?"

Sonic found his voice. "Okay. Thank you, Sam."

Sam. That infernal nickname. He called her it. She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Sonic," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Samus," Sonic replied, as Samus walked off to her next destination.

* * *

Still unable to believe what events had transpired in front of his own eyes, Sonic simply sat back, gave the cab driver instructions, and sat back, his mind whirling about Samus.

Samus wasn't done. She had no more gifts to buy, but she did have a few things to do at a certain nephew's house. And a few gifts to deliver there as well.

Thankfully, Samus remembered where her nephew lived. And she remembered to buy presents for the guests, namely her nephew, and her new niece in law.

She reached the house and rang the door bell. In a few seconds, Midna opened the door, a look of surprise on her face. "May I help you?" she asked.

Samus couldn't help freaking the girl out. "Midna," she said happily, hugging the surprised woman as best as she could, considering she had presents tucked under her arm.

"Midna, who's at the door?" Link called from the hallway.

"I… I think it's your Aunt!" Midna replied, still confused.

"My Aunt?" Link replied. He walked out and saw Samus standing at the door. "Auntie Samus? Yo came?"

"Well, you did invite me," Samus stated. "Besides, how could I miss Christmas with my nephew and his wife? What kind of Aunt would I be?"

"Oh," Link and Midna said in unison, trying to comprehend what was going on.

"Well," Samus said, "could I please come in?"

"Oh, yeah, come on in!" Link said. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Yes, please!" Samus replied as she walked in, removing her coat.

The remainder of Samus' day was a pleasant one. The other guests were shocked to see Samus Aran of all people acting merry with them, and giving them nice presents. It was either a joke or a miracle. Either way, the people found Samus very likable. She gave them gifts and talked with them, laughed with them, and ate with them. The gifts she had given were pleasant as well. Link and Midna received a nice new kitchen set, along with a promise to get a family portrait ASAP. Mr. Luigi received his gift in secret: a shredded evection notice. Samus gave him all the time he would need to pay off his debt. Luigi almost cried.

Samus felt something she hadn't felt in a while, and for a moment was worried she'd never feel again; acceptance. She had a wonderful day, and prayed she'd have many more.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Zelda's house…

Sonic had been heralded as a possible candidate for the next Santa Claus when he had brought the massive turkey for dinner. Zelda, the kids, and even the usually stoic Ike embraced him when he had arrived with the bird. Zelda was cooking it in a flash, while the children praised the hedgehog for the turkey, which he had told them had come from a charity, following Samus' request to keep her out of it. He played with the children and talked with the adults, but was deep in thought at the same time, trying to comprehend why Samus had given him the turkey, and why Samus had actually changed.

Sonic was happy that this had happened. He had never gotten over Samus. Deep down, he wanted her back. He hadn't been able to believe that she had really been all gone.

As he sat down to the table to eat, with the other guests, Sonic's mind was still wrapped around the blonde. He only snapped out of it when Zelda had given him a toast for being "the founder of the feast", and thanked her and the others for their applause.

"However," Zelda added, "I think it is only right to give a toast for my employer, Samus Aran."

Protests began to fill the air, about why Samus didn't deserve a toast. Sonic wasn't really paying attention, too busy wrapped in his thoughts, until Ike addressed him directly: "Sonic, you used to date Samus. What do you think?"

Sonic finally decided to speak. "Samus had changed," he said. "But, seeing as it is Christmas, I too, think Samus deserves some attention. She may be rich, and she may be selfish, but she isn't prayer or hope. So I too, will give her a toast. To Samus," he announced, raising his glass.

"To Samus, the others said with less enthusiasm. Well, maybe they didn't like her. But Sonic, deep down, knew that things were going to get better.

Soon, the party had ended, and Sonic began the walk home. Normally, he'd run, but now, he was busy thinking. About Samus. She just didn't leave his mind.

As he walked down the cold winter streets, he looked in the distance and saw Samus' house. A few lights were on, so he assumed she was there.

His courage popped up, and he took off for the house. When he reached it, he rang on the door-bell, standing there in the snow.

Samus opened the door and stared at the hedgehog. Both were silent.

"Hey," Sonic said at last.

"Hey," Samus replied.

"You still have the hat I gave you?"

"Yeah. I never got rid of it."

Finally unable to take it anymore, the two embraced, for the first time in a long time. They walked into Samus' house, neither getting much sleep. They stayed up for hours on end, talking about how they had been living, how they felt, and how much they cared for each other. By the time they had fallen asleep, it was very late. But neither of them cared.

They were together again.

* * *

The next day, Samus had arrived at her office early as usual. However, she didn't intend to be strictly business today. Today, she had other plans. She hid the gifts she had bought for her employees in their desk drawers and waited.

Falcon, Olimar, and Yoshi all arrived at the same time, panting tiredly. "We're here!" Falcon shouted.

"Good!" Samus said, pretending to be gruff. "Your daily assignments for today are in your desk drawers." She paused, and then said, "Just a moment. Where's Ms. Harkanian?"

Falcon swallowed. "She, uh, seemed very tired last night, ma'am. She might have slept in."

"Slept in?" Samus said. "After I told her to show up early today?"

"Y-yes ma'am," Olimar said. "I'm sure she won't do it again!"

"Oh, she won't do it again alright!" Samus growled, trying not to laugh.

"Ma'am, she doesn't mean-!" Falcon said.

"Quiet!" Samus shouted. "Get to your work. I'm going to pay Ms. Harkanian a visit."

"Yes ma'am," the employees said quietly as they watched their employer gather her clothing and walk out the door, off to speak to Zelda.

"Zelda's dead," Falcon muttered as he watched Samus walk off.

"Maybe she won't be so hard on her?" Yoshi offered.

"And maybe she'll give me tickets to the Indianapolis race," Falcon muttered darkly as he opened his desk drawer. To his surprise, there was no paperwork. Instead, he pulled out a small present. "What the heck," he muttered, as he opened it slowly. He pulled out two pieces of paper, and his eyes went wide.

"What is it?" Yoshi asked amazed.

Falcon grinned. "Tickets to the Indianapolis race!" he said.

Olimar blinked in surprise as Falcon read the note that came with his present. "'My dear employees, it has come to my attention that I have been an awful person. I have decided to make amends, but I fear it may be too late. So, I offer you these gifts for your enjoyment, and you may have the rest of the week off,

Signed, your hopefully forgiven employer, Samus'."

Olimar blinked. "It's a miracle," he whispered.

Falcon grinned as he stared at his tickets, dreaming of the zooming cars. "The is my kind of miracle," he said as the two others began to open their gifts.

* * *

Samus tried not to grin and giggle as she knocked on Zelda's door. "Angry face, angry face," she chanted quietly as she waited for someone to show up at the door.

Nana opened the door after a second, a scared look on her face.

"Hello," Samus said, seriously. "I am here for Ms. Zelda. She did not show up for work on time."

Nana poked her head inside and began to shout for Zelda in a frightened voice.

"I'm dead," she faintly heard Zelda say.

After a few seconds, Zelda walked to the door opening it. She was halfway into her pajamas and halfway in her business clothes, a worried look on her face. "Ms. Samus!" she said. "What a surprise! I was just on my way to work!"

"On your way to work late!" Samus said. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? Well I did. I am very disappointed in you, Ms. Harkanian."

"Ma'am, I know I'm late!" Zelda said, realizing how much trouble she was in. "But I promise to never be late again! I'll work a double shift if I need to!"

"Quiet!" snapped Samus. "Ms. Harkanian I've had my fill of this!"

"And I've had my fill of you!" Ike shouted, throwing the door open and revealing himself to the two women.

"And therefore, Ms. Harkanian!" Samus snapped.

"I don't care about whatever you have to say to her!" Ike said. "You may be in charge at your building, but here you have no ownership of our time here! So please leave!"

"Ms. Samus," Zelda said. "Please reconsider…"

"Very well," Samus said. "This is your property, so I suppose I'll just go then." She began to walk off from the worried and panicky Zelda and the still fuming Ike, before adding, "Then I suppose you won't want that raise then?"

Zelda looked at her in surprise. "E-excuse me?"

"Yes, the raise," Samus said. "Four times what I pay you now." She paused, and then added, "Oh, and I'm planning on adding a health insurance too, just in case any of you have health problems in the family."

"You… you are…?" Zelda said, disbelief written all over her face. Ike's face was filed with surprise as well.

"Oh, yeah," Samus said. "I heard that Lucas had been real sick. I'd hate for anything bad to happen to the little guy, so I figured I'd add the healthcare." She paused, and then added, "Are you sure you'd like to quit?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Zelda said, raising her hands, wondering how she knew about Lucas. "Would you like to come in Ms. Aran? I have some food if you're hungry!"

"Oh, you still have the turkey I sent you yesterday," Samus replied, shocking Zelda even further. "I'd love some Zelda. Thank you very much."

The children were all shocked when Samus sat at the table with Zelda for breakfast, a smile on her face and a gentle voice coming from her mouth, not at all like the awful, greedy witch of a woman they had expected. "What are you going to do now Ms. Aran?" asked Lucas in a small voice after a bit of getting used to it.

Samus smiled. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Lucas. I'm going to give Zelda a raise and help fix this place up. And I'm going to make sure you," the patted his head warmly, "get your medicine."

Samus was better than her word. She did it all and infinitely more. So it took little time for Samus to be accepted by the children. She was treated like a second mother as time went on, helping with the repairs and the work without pay, despite the fact that she could charge for it. She treated them kindly and used patience to its fullest. Some people may have laughed at her, and called her insane. Many people thought it was sad how a woman could fall into the lunacy of giving her riches to others. But Samus was Samus again. She didn't care what they thought. She was happy, really happy, and she went on to be a better person, a better member of society, and eventually, a better wife to Sonic.

And, as Little Lucas observed (and the author was too stupid to remember) "God bless us, everyone!"

* * *

**I am finally done!**

**I'm glad I got this done on time, but I wish the quality was a bit better. Oh well, food for thought next year. And yes, I forgot the stinking "God bless us" line. I am an idiot. Oh well.**

**Now I can back to Fast Love and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, explorers of Prehistory!**

**I'll try to do a better version one day. Merry Christmas!**


End file.
